The whimsical tin frog is a sight to behold. I did the difficult part yesterday. I had to lift all the current garden edging [one side is cobblestone pavers and the other side is flat slate rocks] in order to cut and fit the rest of the landscaping fabric.
I had to fuss with the transition level between the cobblestone path and the new patio. That took the most time. Then, the rest was methodical.
When I got to the end of the pavers and the sand, I was made a wonderful lunch by my husband. I sat in the shade and we enjoyed the moment.
"Got enough pavers," was my husband's question.
"No, I actually need about 20 or 30 to finish up this edge." I had counted them roughly as I looked at the almost finished patio.
"You going to leave that ragged edge?" he asked.
"No, I am going to fill that with those stones I have pulled up from the old vegetable garden and then top the edges with the cobblestone pavers and grey slate I pulled up."
He thought about it a while and ate his lunch.
"Come on, take me to Lowe's," I said.
"You need to change into something else," he suggested.
"No, I don't."
"Yes, you do," he leveled his eyes at my face then glanced at me from the tip of my sweaty hat down to my muddy sneakers.
I trotted into the house and mentally thanked him from saving me from serious embarrassment when I caught a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror. I was a mess - from head to toe.
After cleaning up, I went out and counted the actual pavers I would need to buy to get the final edge finished. I knew they would be at double the cost . . . I'd bought the pallet of pavers on sale with an additional discount. The sale had ended two days ago, and I had to pay full price at 46 cents a block. I hated that. But, if Lowe's hadn't changed my delivery date from Thursday to Monday, I would have come in under the wire with the discount rate. As they say, "That's how the cookie crumbles."
All afternoon the skinks were out and about playing in and around the new patio. They chased each other, checked out their new friend, the tin frog, and ran up on the house foundation to watch the final laying of the pavers.
The huge white tarp like fabric of sand now empty, I folded it to use in the future for hauling leaves to my leaf pile in the fall. And, I ended up with two wooden pallets.
Recently I had seen "vertical gardening" with upright pallets and that will be my next project. I have just the spot.
The last thing I did was spread some sand over the new patio and sweep it in and then sprayed it down into the crevices of the pavers.
Tomorrow will be finishing touches of the edges and putting the garden edging back into place.
Yes, I will be honest. There are a few blemishes here and there - but that can be expected. I have a couple of tree roots that create my 'failure of flatness' on the new patio. Anyone viewing it will surmise it was laid years ago and has settled. Me, I will know and since it is not cemented in . . . I can go back and fix a few section if I need to. But, I find the little flaws charming because I did it my self.
Besides, the skinks are happy.
1 comment:
We took on a similar project, and in the early going it was not looking too good. One thing I can say is that you really have to be patient and try not to rush to the finish line. If you take the time to make the first few payers look like the last, the end result will be stellar.
Garry @ Creative Fences And Decks
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